Sliding jaw wrench with sliding rack catch



Aug. 9, 1949. R. STEINACHER' 2,478,789

v SLIDING JAW WRENCH WITH SLIDING RACK CATCH Filed June 12,1944

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yATTORNEY Patented Aug. 9, 1949 OFFICE Suunto mvv WRENCH WITH SLI'DING iteoK cm1-'en Rudolph Steinacher, New York, N. Y.A

Applica-.tion .fone I2, 1944, Seriai No. 539,923

1' Claim. (Cl. 81145) The present invention relates; to sliding"V jaw wrenches, and particnlary to the construction of sliding jaw` wrenches which are relativeiy arge and strong and are adapted'for heavy duty service.

The general object of the invention is to pro# vide a wrench o'tlie type' mentioned which is rerativeiy simple and inexpensive in construction, and winch comprises novel and eieetiv'e means for releasably locking wrenci Yjaws", together with a Work receiving spjace between them which may be varied by increments, such, for exampie, as of one mil'lin'ieter each, which are' suicientl'y small for substantialiy ali practical purposes served by such a wrench.

My invention is characterized in particular bv its inciusion of' jaw locking' means comprising side by side, transverse rocking' spaces or grooves formed; in the wrench shank to one end of which one of` said jaws is attached, said pacesl being similarly spaced' apart longitlidinally'of the shank and being similar in Width. Tl'ie lo'cl's'ing'v means also comprise side by side locking spaces or grooves parallel to the rst mentioned spaces which are formed inl a sl'i'dingi member' which carries the second Wrench jaw" and which is mounted on said shank for movement I'ongitudinaIIy of the latter' to vary the size` of the work receiving space between, the two jaws. The locling spaces formed in said member are si'r'niiarin width to the' rst mentioned' locking spaces and are uniformly spaced in the' longitudinal direc'- t'ion ot. the shank. The distance between two adjacent Iocking spaces formed in the' member diers from the; distance between' each twoadj'acent shank;l Iocking'. spaces'b'y a' distance substantiaiiy smaller tia'n either of the previously mentioned distances. An Aindividuati locking member, or boit, is' mounted in each of" the' l'ocl'-i ing spaces. formed in said member. Except when restrained by a. control or key element, each Ioe'kfing member is adapted to extend into a shank space in direct juxtaposition with the space of said'body in which thelockingi member ismolmted so asa to thereby lockV the slidingv member against nztfwement` relative to the siianlsv in the longitudinali direction of thelatter.

In; the preferred forni at the; invention; each of .the locking members is. biased for movement in the direction` t'oenterv a juxtaposed shank locking' space andi akey element islmount'ed the wrench; for adjustment' relative toy the sliding member between one positionl in which itflfolds each locking member against movementinto a juxtaposed' shank locking space, and e: second 2 position in which it does not interfere with; such locking member movement.-

The above described lock-ing space arrang'ee ment permits of 'asort' of Vernier adustment of the width. of the work receivingv space between the two Wrench jawsin increments each equal; to the' dierence b'etweenthe distance separating ade jacent shank locking spaces and the: distance separating adiacent"V locking spaces'` the.. sliding member.; Y Y

The various features' of noveltywhioii teriz'e' my invention are pointed out witkilpar'tictif- Iarity in the claimsannexed to' and. tormng part of specification. For' a better andere standing oi the invention, however, its advantages and-specific objects attained by its use' reference shoiiidbe 4hadto the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in whifoliI have' iI-t'istifttedv and described lpreferred embodiments of the inver:i tionsv @i` the drawings:

Fig. 1 anf elevation of a sliding jaw w'renciiy Fig". 2 isa partialilongitudirial section taken on the line 2 4 of Fig. 1.; i

Fig.- sais a transverse section taken cette )ine 3 3 oi Fjig.. 2; and Fig. 4 is a transverse section-Onetti@ line 1-4 or Fig. 2.

inthe preferred form of the invention sli'olwii the drawingee represents the wiesen shank to one' end oi which the' wrericl-i jaw B", commonly .referredV toas the stationary jaw, rigidiy attached. The second, or' sliding jaw C' of wrench, is' connected' to and forni part ot a slid'- in'g member D mounted o'n thesb-anki A for sliding' adjustment in the longitudinal direction ofi' trie latter; As shown, the member Dfis in the form oi-"a flattened tubular bodyo'r sleeve, and its'bore is' shabedto'providea seitably' closesiidig' t with alsliank A whlcli extends'l A nmitiplf'eity of side by side, transverse grooves or loekin'gspace's E are' formed in one side ofthe shank The' spaces E! are'rallof the same width and are uniformly spaeed'loneitdnally ofthe sha-nk, and each is adapted to' re'oeiveioneor 'ain'- other` of aplurali-ty of movable locking or' boit members F mounted in the sliding memberfDl appropriate adjustments of the'latter:magi-todiQ naily of the shan-1% l f E'acl'i of the boit members'F in tbe form shown is in theform of aA bar rectang'ufar' in` crossfse-etion andextcnding trarmereeigvr4 to tire"Y of thesank A and paralieltotb'evsiib of the: sharil in which the spaces are fermed Etten locking member isiinounted in' a corresponding' or slot-like locking space G formed in the sliding member E. The spaces G are similar in width to the shank spaces E, and ordinarily the locking members F are only sufficiently smaller in width than the spaces E and G to permit easy movement of each locking member from its jaw locking position shown in Fig. 4, into its jaw releasing position shown in Fig. 3.

The locking spaces G are uniformly spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the shank A, but the distance between each two adjacent spaces G is slightly greater than the distance between each two adjacent grooves E as is clearlyA shown in Fig. 2. While the relative spacing of the two sets of grooves and the dimensions of a wrench embodying the present invention mayvformed in an adjusting member M. The latter is mounted on an elongated slot N formed in the member D and extending transversely to the length of the shank A. As the member M is vary widely as conditions make desirable, it is" noted, by way of example, that in one design of wrench shaped and proportioned as shown in the drawings and intended for heavy duty service, the maximum operative distance between the two wrench jaws B and C is slightly more than 90 millimeters, the width of each of the spaces E and G is 3 millimeters, the spacing distance between each two adjacent shank locking spaces E is 5 millimeters, and the spacing distance between each two sliding member locking spaces F is 6 millimeters.

Each of the locking bolts F is shown as biased by an individual bent spring I for movement toward its jaw lockingposition shown in Fig. 3. As shown, each spring I is of arc shape with its concave side adjacent the corresponding locking member which is engaged adjacent its ends by the corresponding ends of the spring. The central or crown portion of the convex side of each spring I engages the corresponding portion of a retaining strip H. The latter may be removably or permanently attached to the member D and extends longitudinally of the latter over all of the spaces E. When, as is usual, the member I-I is formed separately from the member E, Vthe spaces G may well be in the form of slots extending through one side wall of the passage through the tubular member E. To facilitate their formation, each .of the spaces E may well be formed with a rounded bottom as shown..

To hold each of the locking membersFout of engagement with the shank A, when adjustment of the sleeve D on the shank A is desirable, I have provided the wrench shown with a manually adjustable key J in the form of a toothed or rack bar. The key is mounted in the sliding member D so as to share the general movements of the latter longitudinally of the shank A, but is permitted a small adjustment relative to the member E in the longitudinal direction of the shank. As shown, the tips .of teeth J of the bar J extend into a guideway formed by aligned, spaced apart grooves KE formed in the dirlerent spacing walls between the different spaces G. The untoothed edge of the key J is received in a groove KA formed in the adjacent side of the shank A, and shown as extending between the jaw B and the remote end of the shank. The key teeth J correspond in number and spacing to the locking spaces G 4of the sliding member D. When the key J is in its advanced position shown in Fig. 2, it does not interfere with the movement of any one of the locking members F into the jaw locking position in which it extends into a shank locking space E in directly juxtaposed relation. When the key J is moved to the left from its position in Fig. 2 for a distance equal to the tooth spacing distance between its teeth J', one or another of moved from the end portion of the slot N in which it is shown in Fig. 1, to the opposite end portion of that slot, the wall of the groove M' cams the pin L to the right as seen in Fig. 1 with the result of moving the key bar J from its position shown in Fig. 2 into the position in which its teeth J prevent the different locking members from passing into engagement with the shank A, so that the sliding member D is then free for longitudinal adjustment along the shank A.

As shown, no `locking spaces or grooves E are formed in a handle portion of the shank A adjacent the end .of the latter remote from the jaw B, and the normal movement of the jaw C away from the jaw B is limited by a retaining member P removably secured in and projecting up out of the groove E most remote from the jaw B. The member P forms a stop engaged by the adjacent end of'the sliding member D when the latter is adjusted to provide the maximum work space width between the two wrench jaws B and C. As shown, the member P is detachably secured in place lby means of a headed tubular retaining member P internally threaded to engage a. threaded stem portion of the member P.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the wrench construction illustrated is relatively simple and inexpensive in construction, and when its parts are suitably proportioned and formed of suitable metal, the wrench is well adapted to withstand the stresses and wear incident to heavy duty wrench operations. For such operations a lever handle extension may be connected from time to time in customary manner to the free end .of the shank A. The wrench may be quickly adjusted to vary the width of the work receiving space between the jaws B and C. All that is required to effect such adjustment is the movement of the member M from one end to the other of the slot N to release the previously established locking connection between the member D and shank A, the movement of the member D longitudinally of the shank A, and the return of the member M to the end of the slot N from which it had previously been moved. As will be ap-4 parent, also, with a wrench having the dimenf sions given'above by way of example, the member D may be locked to the shank A in each of a multiplicity of different positions differing from one another in the direction of the length of the shaft by increments of 1 millimeter each.

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, I have illustrated and described the best forms of embodiments of my invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the forms of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claim, and that in some cases certain features of my invention may be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features.

Having now `described myV invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A sliding jaw wrench comprising a jaw and a bar-like shank to one end of which said jaw is attached, a second jaw, a sliding member mounted .on said shank for sliding movement longitudinally of the latter and to one end of which said second jaw is attached, said shank being oblong in cross section and slotted at one of its wider sides to form elongated locking spaces transverse to the length ,of the shank and said jaws having Working faces extending away from the shank at one of the narrower sides thereof, said locking spaces being similar in width and similarly spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the shank and said sliding member comprising side by side locking spaces parallel to and similar in width to said shank spaces, said sliding member spaces being similarly spaced apart in the longitudinal direction .of said shank and the distance between each two adjacent shank spaces diering from the distance between two adjacent sliding member spaces by a distance substantially smaller than either of the previously mentioned `clistances, means for releasably securing said sliding member to said shank in different adjustments longitudinally of the latter comprising locking members mounted in and elongated in the direction of the length ,of the locking spaces of said sliding member and each movable therein between 30 a jaw locking position in which it extends'into any directly juxtaposed shank lock space, a jaw releasing position in which it is displaced latand being longitudinally movable in said longi- 1` tudinal slot between one position in which each of said projections is adapted to maintainv va corresponding one of said locking members in its jaw releasing position, and a second position in which it does not interfere with the movement of any of said locking members into its jaw locking position.

RUDOLPH STEINACI-IER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 548,962 Collins Oct. 29. 1895 783,492 Williams et al Feb. 28, 1905 1,167,540 White Jan. 11, 1916 1,363,819 Simerson Dec. 28, 1920 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 280,256 Italy Dec. 3, 1930 

